Trek TNG "Desk Tool" Found Item - AKA Most obscure Trek Prop ever

nick daring

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I think I may have identified the most obscure of obscure Trek props.

After a bit of searching on the Trekcore.com photo archives, I could only find it in a couple episodes.


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Here's the one I have on my desk as I type. It's not the exact model but it's pretty close!
16217117141_9e5e3c2364_b.jpg


Here are the only other shots I can find this goofy prop.
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16031521990_97aecde759_b.jpg



16031522280_b063ff88b8_b.jpg



16031360378_5869c2ed88_b.jpg



With a little TNG style almond spray paint, I'll be able to make props with a prop. :)
 
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I don't know the exact name for the item, but I have seen them in hardware stores. Some kind of box cutter. . When one blade is shot, just slide down another one I think. Could be wrong though, just remember it in passing one day.
 
Wow!

Never saw it on the show but I instantly knew what it was from the Screen caps!

I think that is the lowest tech prop ever used in TNG! :lol
 
I would imagine it was likely repurposed to be used as a futuristic stylus of some sort. That'd be my guess, anyway.

@gunnerk19: Thanks for posting that pic. I think that may even be the very same one as seen in the screencaps.
 
More specifically, it looks to be made by "American Line".


Edit: maybe not, the thickness of the black top part seems a bit too wide.
 
I actually looked around on ebay to see if there were any vintage ones but it looks like these are usually tossed pretty quickly.

There are a however dozens of current models made with a million little variations from one another.

$(KGrHqZ,!m!E-q-vts7gBP0mjd1R3!~~60_57.JPG$_57.JPG$_57.JPG$_57.JPG$_57.JPG$(KGrHqF,!rUFH4I,I3+gBSC8!r2s3Q~~60_57.JPG$T2eC16R,!zcE9s4g3JQmBSD6WDoc7g~~60_12.JPG$_57.JPG$_57.JPG$_12.JPG$_12.JPG

As a lover of tool and object design, I adore seeing the numerous iterations of the same exact object.
 
Careful not to pick one with a hole in the "bump" near the rear section.

Also, I think that the TNG model has a "pen clip" on the back.
 
Hey Nick. I got a few of these knives from Ace Hardware the other day and am ready to a stab (so to speak) at painting these. Do you happen to remember the episodes the above screenshots came from? Other than the one clearly from "The Neutral Zone," there isn't much to go on. Thanks!
 
That one really good shot is from "Coming of Age"

"The Child"-
thechild_hd_259.jpg

I think I just found another appearance in "Hide and Q"
hideandq_hd_305.jpg

I've been going through Season 1 again Trek Core and there were a couple other "maybe" shots but nothing good.
 
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Exactly. I actually just threw a broken one away a couple weeks ago that probably was perfect.

However I I da want to convert a functional one for everyday use.

Is there a standard TNG almond and brown spray paint that are commonly used for replicas?
 
Is there a standard TNG almond and brown spray paint that are commonly used for replicas?

I was wondering the same thing. If I ever get around to scratch building a TNG desk monitor as I someday hope to do, I'm going to paint it the almond color.

I was thinking of experimenting with mixing my own batch for spraying in my airbrush/gun. If I succeed, I'll happily share the formula here. :) However, if anybody knows of the original paint used to help in finding a real-world reference, that would be awesome. That color is used so extensively throughout TNG; it basically defines the Galaxy Class world as far as I'm concerned.
 
Interestingly, you can see the underlying orange plastic showing through under the almond paint in some of the frames.

Almong Stylus - orange showing through.png

Almong Stylus - orange showing through 2.png
 
Here's one made from the snap knife carried at Home Depot. Not quite right at the curve near the top, still, but closer than what Wal-mart has (there are no Ace hardware near me). I threw it together so quickly yesterday that I didn't realize the thumb pad should have been removed, lol.



Edit: I forgot to mention that the almond paint is simply Krylon "almond" and the brown paint... should be darker.
 
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This is such a fun one to watch develop. It's fantastic that a found item is so readily available. At least it's not a piece of the landing gear from for a 737...
 
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